


No Fear But I Think I'm Falling

by donniedont



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, First Dates, Getting to Know Each Other, Horseback Riding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:41:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22117282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donniedont/pseuds/donniedont
Summary: Dorothea has recently transferred to the Blue Lions and has not been able to find her place in the group dynamic.  When Ingrid asks to spend some time with her, she wonders if this will be her way to connect with someone in this new house.  Written for the Nagamas gift exchange for comfy_comfy on Twitter!
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Ingrid Brandl Galatea
Comments: 9
Kudos: 65
Collections: Nagamas Gifts





	No Fear But I Think I'm Falling

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays, comfy_comfy! I saw that you were interested in some doting Dorothea and Ingrid and I decided that I really wanted to give it a shot! It's set pre-relationship, so the doting is not as pronounced, but I hope the emotions still read true!
> 
> Also, thank you so much to Kamu and Shannon for the horse name inspiration!

Dorothea did not deny that she had her fair share of flaws. She could admit that she was interested in joining the Blue Lions house, because she was charmed by their silently charismatic professor. She wished she could say that she was charmed by her classmates. She was still on amicable terms with her former classmates in the Black Eagles, but the Blue Lions were a difficult group to find common ground with. Most of them were friends before they arrived at the academy, their dynamics twisted fences that she couldn’t quite figure out how to climb over. 

During class, she tended to sit in the second row, a strategic choice that left her close enough to look engaged while also not having to deal with the pressure of being in the front. She tried to take class time as evidence collection, hoping she would find anything that could help her make a connection. Before and after class, she would watch the class, observing who tended to gravitate toward who.

At the moment, she was sitting around and waiting for Byleth to arrive for a lecture. Byleth was running late, allowing her to continue to attempt to collect information. Right now, was focusing on the house leader Dimitri and his retainer, Dedue. They seemed rapt in conversation, though Dorothea noted that Dimitri was doing most of the talking with Dedue giving brief, but effective answers. She kept trying to read their lips to figure out what they were talking about, but they always seemed to move their heads in a way that she missed too much of it.

“Hi, Dorothea,” someone greeted her. She turned around and saw one of the Blue Lions students, Ingrid, staring at her. Her arms were crossed and her head was slightly titled. Dorothea wondered how long she was behind her. 

“Oh, hi, Ingrid!” Dorothea greeted. She waved hastily, her bracelets jangling at her wrist loudly. She quickly brought her hand down, grabbing at her bracelets in an attempt to silence them.

Thankfully, Ingrid didn’t seem to be bothered by it. Instead she pulled her heavy braid over one of her shoulder. Dorothea wished she could style Ingrid’s hair at least once to give it the attention it deserved. 

It took everything in her to resist laughing at herself when the thought crossed her mind. She knew by now that as someone with an eye for people of all sorts, she could pinpoint exactly when she was falling for someone. She also knew that she had to be strategic if she was going to make any moves about it.

“Are you free after class?” Ingrid asked.

Dorothea pursed her lips, curious. She knew that she had a speech she still had to complete for their Art of Politics class, but she wasn’t terribly worried. She knew how to improvise in a pinch. “Free as a bird,” she said, “What’s up?”

“I was wondering if you would like to go on a ride with me?” Ingrid asked. She cleared her throat and added, “No pressure, it’s…”

But she cut herself off as the door swung open, Byleth rushing into the classroom and muttering an apology. Dorothea said, “Of course!” and Ingrid rushed to her seat next to Sylvain, the exchange so quick Dorothea could not even try to read her face in reaction to her accepted invitation. Dorothea faced forward and tried to make her best attempt at focusing on whatever the topic of the lecture was. 

Dorothea’s mind raced as she sat in lecture. Ingrid was one of the best riders in the class. She seemed to be someone who wasn’t only skillful, but she seemed to genuinely love the creatures. It made Dorothea realize that passion meant a lot to her, even if she was on the path to find a noble somewhere at this school she could marry. Ingrid was a noble, which helped her check off that box, but if Dorothea allowed her mind to wander, she found herself focusing on different pieces of Ingrid than the comfort that would come dating her on a social level. 

Dorothea didn’t realize that the lecture was over until she saw people moving around her. She blinked several times, looking down at her notes and saw that outside of a few bullets that trailed off, she didn’t seem to have much to go off of to figure out what she missed. She had yet to figure out who was actually good at taking notes in this class, but she was probably going to have to start figuring it out. She spotted Ingrid standing with Felix and Sylvain. She told them goodbye before she walked toward Dorothea. 

“Ready to go?” Ingrid asked.

Dorothea nodded, trying to give a dazzling smile before she got up and walked with her, separating for Ingrid to grab her riding gear from her dorm and for Dorothea to cobble something together at hers. She found a pair of pants that could probably pass as riding pants as well as a pair of boots that would probably work well and she headed toward the stables, resisting a gasp when she saw Ingrid already greeting a horse.

All Dorothea could do was stare at Ingrid’s legs. They were long and expertly toned for riding, exposed under the clinging fabric of her pants. Ingrid turned toward her, bringing her hand away from the horse.

“Oh, don’t mind me!” Dorothea exclaimed, smiling. 

“I mean, this isn’t my horse,” Ingrid admitted.

“Whose is it, if I may ask?” Dorothea walked to her side, studying the horse. From what she could tell, he was a large stallion that was light gray. Dorothea waved at him.

Ingrid smiled before she said, “This is his highness’s horse.”

Dorothea jerked her hand off of the horse for a moment before she shook her head. It wasn’t like this horse was made out of glass. “What’s his name? I don’t think I’ve ever heard him use it.”

Ingrid sighed. “Horsey,” she mumbled, “He’s not very good at naming animals. I gave him a bunch of suggestions, too.”

Dorothea laughed. “Well, it’s a good thing the ability to give an animal a good name isn’t a requirement to be a prince,” she said, resuming petting Horsey. 

“Fair enough,” Ingrid said. “I’m going to say hi to Chastity.” She began walking to another stall and Dorothea followed behind, stopping next to her as they faced a dark gray horse.

“And whose is this?” Dorothea asked.

“Sylvain’s,” Ingrid answered. 

“Wait, his name is Chastity…” Dorothea started.

“Yeah… yeah…” Ingrid said, sighing. 

Dorothea covered her mouth to laugh while she gave Chastity a brief pet with her other one. She shook her head. “I can’t believe these boys are your friends.”

Ingrid laughed. She seemed to be able to pet the horse with absolute precision, if such a thing was possible. “They’ve been my best friends since I was born,” she explained. The briefest of grimaces flashes across her face until she added, “They take forever to warm up to people, but they’ll get there. I promise.”

Dorothea turned back toward Horsey, thinking about the prince. She was still trying to figure out the full story as to what had happened with the Tragedy of Duscur and how Faerghus was impacted by it. Whatever it was, the pain had set deep into his bones. Dimitri was distant, but it seemed like it was because something was pulling him back to a point in his past. It felt like a truth that Ingrid may not want to hear, so she kept it to herself.

When she faced Chastity again, she felt herself involuntarily roll her eyes. Sylvain already attempted to pull his usual flirtations on her and she was able to shut it down well enough. She knew that she was going to have to find some sort of common ground with him if she wanted to have any kind of relationship with Ingrid, friendship or otherwise. But she couldn’t focus on it right now. She still had to make sure Ingrid liked her by the end of this.

“Does Felix not have a horse?” Dorothea asked.

“Oh, Goddess no,” Ingrid replied, “He hates them.”

Dorothea hadn’t even bothered to speak to Felix yet. He had proven himself caustic toward legitimately everybody. She didn’t have it in her to purposely engage with someone who was going to probably be mean when she was already doing so badly at interacting with everyone else.

“Why don’t we meet your horse?” Dorothea asked.

Ingrid grinned, nearly running inside toward a stall. Dorothea followed her, the two of them stopping in front of a small white mare. The horse poked her head over the door, nuzzling Ingrid. Dorothea felt her stomach flip and she gulped. She didn’t think that watching someone pet horses was going to make her more attracted to someone, but it was sure working.

“What’s your horse’s name?” Dorothea asked.

“Her name is Peanut!” Ingrid exclaimed. She giggled as if it was the funniest name possible.

“ _ Peanut _ !” Dorothea sang, “Miss  _ Peanut _ it’s so nice to meet you!”

The horse seemed too content being near Ingrid. Ingrid’s eyes lit up and she brought her hand behind her back, showing off a carrot. “Would you like to give her a treat?” she asked.

Dorothea took the carrot from her, trying her best to not laugh. “Of course, Ingrid,” she said, listening to Ingrid’s careful instructions to make sure she gave it to Peanut correctly. 

Peanut contently crunched on the carrot as Ingrid said, “So I was thinking we could take out the horse you’ve been doing your riding lessons with. She’s available for an hour. So it’ll be a brief ride, but the weather is perfect for it.”

Dorothea gave the last bit of carrot to Peanut and she nodded her head. The horse was a beautiful chestnut color named Ellie. Dorothea liked that she had a human name. With all due respect to Horsey and Peanut, of course. She had never met someone named Chastity, but she assumed that it could be a human name, too.

They got Peanut and Ellie prepared for a ride and Dorothea tried her best to remember the steps. Ingrid was able to guide her well enough, Dorothea grateful that she wasn’t the type of person to treat her like she was lesser for not knowing. They got on their horses and started to move, Ingrid leading Dorothea down a path that ran through a sparse patch of forest.

“Thank you for coming with me today,” Ingrid said, “I usually try to fit an afternoon ride with Sylvain, but he was too busy with a  _ lunch date _ .” Dorothea was able to be close enough to her side to catch her rolling her eyes. 

They were quiet after that, following the path as it looped through the trees. The silence wasn’t unpleasant. It was a sensation that Dorothea wasn’t used to. Since she got to Garreg Mach, she felt like she had to be the one to charm people. She had to prove her worth, even if she hated the system she was working within. It was an anxiety that she wondered if other commoners in the Blue Lions house were struggling with, but she never quite knew how to ask. Dorothea wondered if it was because she didn’t feel like she had to prove anything to Ingrid. She wasn’t sure if this was true, but she didn’t feel like she was going to be burned by Ingrid quite like she felt like she could be by other nobles. Perhaps that was good enough.

“How are you handling being in a new house?” Ingrid asked. Her voice was steady and neutral.

“Oh, it’s been fine,” Dorothea replied. She swallowed a bit too hard before she added, “Uh, I don’t know. Just trying to figure out how the group dynamic works, I guess.”

Ingrid nodded. “We’re a pretty intense bunch,” she admitted.

“Intense is a good word for it,” Dorothea replied. 

The silence rolled in again, but it grabbed at Dorothea tightly. Ingrid stopped Peanut and Dorothea did the same with Ellie. 

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that… I’m, uh. Glad you’re in my house. I would like to keep getting to know you. If you would be okay with that.” Dorothea stares at Ingrid’s cheeks, noticing a light dusting of pink spreading across them. She wondered if it was too much wishful thinking on her end.

“I would be  _ very  _ okay with that,” Dorothea replied, forcing herself to be optimistic. Ingrid smiled before she continued the ride, looping along the trail and making their way back.

Dorothea found herself upset when they were approaching the stables again. She wondered if there was a way for them to extend their time together. She arched her back just so, giving Ingrid a smirk as she asked, “Hey, you know. Sylvain doesn’t have to be the only one who has a lunch date today.”

Ingrid looked like she was about to fall off her horse before she turned her head toward Dorothea. “You think so?” she asked.

“Well, of course. I mean, I suppose you can consider the horseback ride a bit of a date, as well. Assuming you don’t mind that sort of implication.”

Ingrid coughed. “I mean! I wasn’t entirely planning on it that way…”

“We can revise it as such,” Dorothea said, “If you would like, of course.”

Ingrid stopped Peanut and began to get off of her. She ran her fingers through her mane before she said, “I mean, I…” She pressed her lips and nodded her head. “Yeah,” she said, “Yeah, why not?”

Dorothea grinned. She liked how resolute Ingrid presented herself, even when she was clearly flustered. She got off her own horse and found herself wanting to seal the moment with a kiss, frustrated that there were two creatures that needed to get rubbed down and put back in her stalls first. Dorothea tried to make sure that anytime Ingrid helped her grab anything their hands brushed, even if Ingrid scolded her after the third time. Dorothea shrugged, understanding that she was not always great at subtlety, especially when she genuinely liked someone.

Once both horses were put away, Dorothea strolled next to Ingrid, grinning.

“Well, maybe we should go into town to get food? Because we’re doing a lunch date and all,” Dorothea suggested.

Ingrid scrunched up her nose. “I mean, it’ll be a bit expensive, though…” she started, “Maybe we can…” Her eyes lit up and she nearly jumped up. “Ashe and Dedue are on kitchen duty.” She turned toward Dorothea and grinned. “Ashe  _ and _ Dedue are on kitchen duty! Let’s go!"

“Oh, that sounds great…” Dorothea started, but Ingrid was already lacing her fingers with Dorothea yanking her toward the dining hall. Dorothea laughed and tried her best to make sure that she didn’t fall too far behind.


End file.
